Bank of America joins group pushing tax reform

Bank of America is one of 42 companies that have banded together into an organization lobbying for corporate tax reform, according to an announcement from the group Tuesday.

The Alliance for Competitive Taxation will push for lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, from the 35 percent it is now. They'll advocate for it to be paid for by eliminating some tax breaks, without specifying yet what those are. Their goal is to create jobs and allow American companies to "compete in today's global economy," as the alliance puts it.

The issue has been reinvigorated in recent weeks by the debate over Apple Inc.'s use of overseas subsidiaries to keep profits from being taxed in the U.S. If money is kept offshore, and not brought back to the U.S., it isn't taxed by the federal government. Bank of America, for example, has $17.2 billion in foreign earnings kept overseas, the Observer found last week.

No other Charlotte companies appear on the list backing the Alliance for Competitve Taxation. The group did not disclose how much money each business put in. It has yet to record any lobbying expenses, according to public records.